The ostensibly simple story of a sympathetic veteran teacher giving Italian lessons to a weekly class of diverse immigrants is given infinitely more depth and complexity by the manner in which director Daniele Gaglianone renders his story. Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, truth and artifice, and between documentary and drama, Gaglianone has created a film within a film. You see the apparent artifice of Gaglianone’s crew using professionals, including the noted film actor Valerio Mastandrea as the teacher, interlinked with ‘real’ immigrant protagonists, studying the language to improve their chances of employment and of gaining a permanent residence permit. Thus in the course of the lessons there is simultaneously the painful and upsetting relation of the students’ personal stories but also humour, as they interact and share their humanity, bridging cultural differences, united in their striving to make a better life for themselves. (Source: LFF programme)

Film which travels inside the singular world of one of Italy’s most famous fashion designers, Valentino Garavani, documenting the colourful and dramatic closing act of his celebrated career and capturing the end of an era in global fashion. However, at the heart of the film is a love story – the unique relationship between Valentino and his business partner and companion of 50 years, Giancarlo Giammetti. Capturing intimate moments in the lives of two of Italy’s richest and most famous men, the film lifts the curtain on the final act of a nearly 50-year reign at the top of the glamorous and fiercely competitive world of fashion. (Storyville)

An intimate portrait of a real Modern Family: Meet Erik and Sandro, a gay couple with daughters birthed by their friend Rachel who’s married with three teenagers of her own.

Forced onto the streets in her 50s, Mimi found “home” at a Santa Monica laundromat. Taking shelter there for 20 years, Mimi’s passion for pink, and living without looking back, has taken her from homelessness to Hollywood’s red carpets. This is the fascinating and moving story of one incredibly strong woman’ s survival against all odds.

A film director confides in his interlocutor. He talks about the working process, about creative blocks, about artistic crises and expressive forces. At some point, the idea takes hold that this conversation could be turned into a film. And this is the very film we’re watching the two of them in.

A year in the life of a dying shopping mall located in Jasper, Alabama, United States. Opened on August 8, 1981, it currently is approximately 350,000 square feet.

Follows the tragic murders that took place at the hands of Democratic political donor Edward Buck, while also unpacking internalized homophobia, the psychological root of predatory behaviors, and providing a deeper exploration of challenges faced by the black and brown LGBTQ+ community

She was once as famous as Jackie O — and then she tried to take down a President. Martha Mitchell was the unlikeliest of whistleblowers: a Republican wife who was discredited by Nixon to keep her quiet. Until now.

Robert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.

Targeted will be examining one of the key issues of the day, gun control, and will take you on a fast-paced journey, following 22 year-old director Jesse Winton as he travels across the world, and goes back to the historical roots of the gun-control agenda, exposing it, and bringing out the dark truth behind gun control.

A beautiful love story in danger. Our future depends on an amazing love story between the flowers and fauna consisting of bees, butterflies, birds and bats, which allow these species to reproduce. Delicate and graceful, the flowers are not content to be the ultimate symbol of beauty. On the contrary, their vibrant colors and their exotic flavors are so many wonders that attract pollinators and drunk with desire. All these animals are involved in a complex dance of seduction on which one third of our crops, a dance without which we could survive … Pollen presents the unsung heroes of the global food chain. Their fantastic worlds are full of stories, drama and beauty. While a fragile and threatened, essential for the balance of the planet, it should now actively protect …

Follow four Americans as they travel the country in an effort to bridge political division. From Susan Bro, reluctantly called to activism after losing daughter Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, to Milwaukeean Steven Olikara, founder of the Millennial Action Project, they all seek to mend division and find the human bond that crosses the aisles of our partisan nation. This film is a balm before Election Day, reminding us that even within division, connection is possible.